Writing about my trips and different travel hacks is one thing – but the question that pops up over and over again is, “What happens behind the curtains?” “What do you pack?” “What are your favorite accessories?” “What do you wear?” “What’s your beauty routine?”

It makes sense for me to share with you all the pockets of my travel experiences and I am happy to roll out this new section of my page which will cover anything and everything related to beauty and fashion and travel, from my perspective. Unless otherwise noted, these posts are not sponsored – my goal is to share with you the reality of what I do that makes life and travel easier for me.

Traveling on long weekends typically means that my outbound flight leaves at night and gets into the destination in the morning. In an effort to waste as little time as possible, I usually plan to be up and on my feet that morning right after leaving my luggage wherever I am staying! In my world, getting ready can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours and that is precious time which I certainly don’t want to waste during my trip; so I started looking for ways to tweak my routine to eliminate time that would otherwise be wasted … doing makeup! Eyebrows are arguably the most important facial feature and it is the longest part of my makeup routine. Needless to say, I spend a ton of money on products to keep them up. Earlier this summer I tried out a beauty hack that changed my travel beauty routine entirely: microblading.

Microblading is essentially a semi-permanent tattoo that can singlehandedly redefine your eyebrows. Whether you want them fuller, bolder, feathered, reshaped, resized … virtually any look you want can be achieved through this procedure. Microblading is a meticulous procedure where a professional “draws” individual strokes to mimic your actual eyebrow hairs. The result: natural eyebrows that need virtually no touching up. I booked my appointment with Permaline Cosmetics in New York City, one of the leading in the industry with features in Vogue, Bazaar, and InStyle. I believe that when investing into yourself, it is worth getting top of the line service and results – and that is exactly what I got.

 

Microblading is especially perfect for women (perhaps men) that have thin eyebrows or little hair. Although I had relatively full eyebrows, they were not straight, defined, or long enough.

Emilia Berry, the Founder of Permaline cosmetics, is incredible. Besides being one of the best in the permanent cosmetics field, she is incredibly kind, patient, and gave me honest advice about what I should do. The procedure itself takes about an hour and a half. First, your eyebrows get drawn/filled in with pencil to achieve the desired shape. Then the color is chosen and you get numbed for about ten minutes. There are usually two to three rounds of stroking depending on your needs. Once your skin is numbed, microblading is relatively pain free with some moments feeling like scratching (it is NOT like getting tattooed!) Emilia was very patient and, in my case, often re-pplied the numbing cream!

At Permaline Cosmetics, you get a free touch-up after a month of the initial treatment. Everybody reacts differently to microblading and the initial procedure fades within the first few weeks, so it’s a great value prop to be able to get a free touch up after which the color can last up to two years. I am happy to say that I’ve been traveling for over a month since my final procedure (in different climates, in the sun, on the beach, in the rain) and I haven’t found the need to touch my eyebrows! It may not seem like much but this was a breakthrough for me in both travel and personal. Permaline Cosmetics doesn’t only specialize in eyebrows – lips, eyelashes, scar camouflage and more is on their menu and I cannot recommend them enough!

Permanent makeup services can range from $500-$1000.